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SEC or Palace Puppet? The Masukat Appointment Nobody Asked For

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Louis ‘Barok’ Biraogo

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Meet the insider who failed upward — and the corporate lawyer who actually knows what an IPO is.


By Louis ‘Barok‘ C. Biraogo — September 18, 2026

WANTED: One Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Commissioner. Requirements: unquestionable integrity, known probity, recognized competence in social and economic disciplines. Preferred: First Lady’s former law firm colleague who once tried to make presidential appointees submit Ombudsman clearances and got slapped down by the Ombudsman himself. Apply at Malacañang.

But the Bilyonaryo report — sourced to that mysterious, perpetually whispering entity known only as “the Babbler” — has placed two archetypes on the SEC’s doorstep: the corporate lawyer who actually understands capital markets, and the Malacañang insider who understands which way the wind blows at the Palace.

One of these things is not like the other. And if you’ve been paying attention to how this administration operates, you already know which one the Palace actually wants.

“SEC Commissioner or Palace Puppet? The ‘Qualifications’ Will Shock You”

The Resume You Want vs. The Resume You Get

Under Section 4.2 of Republic Act (RA) 8799, the Securities Regulation Code, an SEC commissioner must be a natural-born citizen, at least 35, of good moral character, unquestionable integrity, known probity and patriotism, and possessed of “recognized competence in social and economic disciplines.”

That last phrase is doing a lot of heavy lifting — vague enough to accommodate a wide range of backgrounds, which is exactly why it becomes a political Rorschach test.

Candidate A — the corporate lawyer heading a prominent law firm, with experience in capital markets, securities regulation, fintech, and emerging technologies — ticks every box that matters. This is someone who has structured Initial Public Offerings (IPOs), advised on securities offerings, and understands how capital formation actually works. This is the appointment you make if you want the SEC taken seriously by institutional investors and foreign funds.

Candidate B — the lawyer holding a Malacañang post, described as “close to the administration” — ticks the boxes too. Legally, there is no disqualification for being a Palace insider. The SEC is not a Constitutional Commission.

The President appoints commissioners under RA 8799, and there is no Commission on Appointments (CA) confirmation requirement for SEC positions. The Supreme Court has been clear that Congress cannot expand the list of appointments requiring CA consent beyond Article VII, Section 16.

So yes, a Palace lawyer can legally become an SEC commissioner. But “can” and “should” are different questions. The Bilyonaryo report has framed this as a choice between technical competence and political reliability.

The Babbler’s Track Record

The Babbler is not a figment of Bilyonaryo’s imagination. This anonymous source has a verifiable track record of breaking stories later confirmed or officially acknowledged.

In December 2025, the Babbler revealed ABS-CBN was in talks with Manny Villar’s AllTV for a content collaboration — prompting an official Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) clarification filing. In August 2026, the Babbler reported Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR)’s valuation of First Gen, triggering a formal disclosure requirement. In September 2026, Bilyonaryo confirmed the Babbler’s earlier scoop about Villar selling non-core malls was accurate.

So when the Babbler says two lawyers are being considered for the SEC, it is not nothing. But it is also not a decision. It is the whisper before the appointment — and in Philippine governance, the whisper often tells you more about the Palace’s intentions than the eventual announcement.

The Elaine Masukat Problem

The Bilyonaryo report carefully avoids naming a bombshell: Elaine T. Masukat, Senior Undersecretary and Officer-in-Charge of the Presidential Management Staff (PMS), is publicly identified by the Palace itself as a senior official in the Office of the President.

Her resume is a masterclass in proximity over proficiency.

She began her legal career at the MOST Law Firm — founded by First Lady Liza Araneta Marcos — where she worked from 2006 to 2010. She then served as City Administrator of Navotas under Toby Tiangco, later as his chief of staff and consultant.

In January 2023, she was appointed Senior Undersecretary and OIC of the PMS. In February 2024, she issued a memorandum requiring all presidential appointees appointed before February 2023 to submit updated personal data sheets and police, National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), and Ombudsman clearances within 30 days.

The Ombudsman, Samuel Martires, called the memo “highly irregular” — citing the office’s backlog of over 8,000 clearance requests. The memo died on the vine: not withdrawn, not amended, not enforced.

This is the woman the Palace reportedly wants to place on the SEC.

The Maharlika Fund Elephant

The SEC is the regulatory gateway to the Maharlika Investment Fund — the President’s multi-billion-peso sovereign wealth project burning through taxpayer money under the guise of “nation-building.” The SEC’s role in overseeing disclosures, market conduct, and corporate governance is, theoretically, the last line of defense against opacity and self-dealing.

If you install a First Lady loyalist at the SEC, you have not just appointed a commissioner. You have appointed the fox to draw up the architectural plans for the chicken plucking facility.

The Masukat appointment would signal that the SEC’s independence is for sale to the highest political bidder — that the regulator is not a regulator but an extension of the Palace’s political operation.

The Corporate Lawyer: A Real Alternative

Now consider the other candidate — the corporate lawyer with capital markets, securities, fintech, and emerging technologies experience. This is someone who has actually done the work.

The Philippine SEC under Chairman Francis Lim has pursued an aggressive reform agenda: term limits for independent directors, short-selling frameworks, broker capital requirements, digital asset regulation. Lim himself came from the private sector — a former PSE president and ACCRALAW senior partner — and his appointment was widely seen as a signal that the administration wanted technical competence at the helm.

If the Palace is serious about capital market development — about attracting foreign investment, about building a regulatory framework that can compete with Singapore and Malaysia — then the corporate lawyer is the obvious choice.

But if the Palace is more interested in controlling the narrative — ensuring the SEC does not look too closely at the Maharlika Fund, at politically connected conglomerates, or at the First Lady’s family business interests — then the Malacañang lawyer is the safer bet.

The Conflict Question

The corporate lawyer is not without conflict issues. A prominent law firm head may have clients who are SEC-regulated entities. RA 6713, the Code of Conduct for Public Officials, requires divestment and recusal. The Code of Professional Responsibility and Accountability (CPRA) imposes its own ethical walls.

But here is the crucial distinction: a corporate lawyer’s conflicts can be managed through disclosure, divestment, and recusal protocols. A political loyalist’s conflicts cannot.

You cannot recuse yourself from being the President’s appointee. You cannot divest yourself of your relationship with the First Lady. You cannot wall yourself off from the political machine that put you in office.

The corporate lawyer’s conflicts are structural and manageable. The Malacañang lawyer’s conflicts are existential and definitional.

The Babbler’s Real Message

The Bilyonaryo report is telling us the Palace is considering two fundamentally different visions for the SEC.

One vision is that of a professional regulator — led by someone who understands markets, who can stand up to powerful interests, who can say “no” to the President’s friends when they break the rules.

The other is that of a political instrument — led by someone whose loyalty is to the Palace, whose career depends on pleasing the First Lady, whose tenure is a reward for services rendered rather than a recognition of expertise.

The Babbler has given us the casting call. The President will make the final cut. And the market — foreign investors, institutional funds, pension funds, retail investors — will be watching.

The Bottom Line

The Bilyonaryo report is not a confirmation. It is a warning shot.

It tells us the SEC commissioner vacancy is being contested. It tells us the Palace is weighing competence against loyalty. It tells us the Maharlika Fund, the First Lady’s business interests, and the administration’s political survival are all factors.

The corporate lawyer is the right choice for the SEC, for the market, and for the country.

The Malacañang lawyer is the wrong choice — not because she is legally disqualified, but because she is institutionally compromised before she even takes the oath.

If the President appoints the corporate lawyer, he sends a message that the SEC is still a regulator. If he appoints the Malacañang insider, he sends a message that the SEC is just another office in the Palace.

The Babbler has spoken. Now we wait to see whether the President is listening to the market — or to the First Lady.

Louis “Barok” C. Biraogo is not a lawyer, not a regulator, and not invited to any of these meetings — just a reluctant blogger who believes the only thing worse than an incompetent regulator is a regulator who is very competent at doing what the Palace tells him to do.

Key Citations

A. Legal & Official Sources

B. News Articles

C. Official Websites

Louis ‘Barok‘ C. Biraogo

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